The Telangana High Court, on Tuesday, June 3, quashed a 2022 ex parte gag order that had barred media organisations from publishing or broadcasting reports concerning Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) and its alleged role in financing the wedding of a senior IAS officer's daughter.
A division bench comprising Justice T Vinod Kumar and Justice P Sree Sudha delivered the judgement in appeals filed by The News Minute (Spunklane Media Pvt. Ltd.), Telugu news channel V6 Velugu (VIL Media Pvt. Ltd.), and the e-paper Toli Velugu, who had challenged the interim injunction passed by a Medchal-Malkajgiri trial court on December 2, 2022.
“The order dated 02.12.2022 passed by the trial Court... is a ‘gag’ order inasmuch as the impugned order scuttles the throat of the press,” the High Court observed in a scathing rebuke of the lower court’s decision.
The trial court's order had restrained the appellants from “publishing, circulating, advertising, uploading, transmitting or broadcasting any derogatory, libellous or defamatory statements” about MEIL. Calling it a textbook example of a gag order, the High Court warned that such judicial restraints should not infringe upon the constitutionally protected right to free speech.
“A gag order refers to judicial or executive action that prohibits individuals from expressing or making any public statements... Their application should be scrutinised,” the Court said. “The Courts must ensure that gag orders are necessary, proportionate, and do not infringe upon constitutional rights, particularly the fundamental right to free speech,” the bench added.
Referring to a series of judgements by the Supreme Court, the High Court emphasised the chilling effect such gag orders have on journalistic freedom. “Even if a large number of persons dislike the views expressed by another, the right of the person to express the views must be respected and protected,” the Court quoted from the apex court’s ruling.
The High Court found that the injunction order neither specified reasons for urgency nor limited its duration, thereby violating procedural fairness.
The Court also found fault with MEIL for suppressing a previous suit filed on similar grounds before a different court. “The Respondent No. 1... had deliberately suppressed it, having filed another suit... The above action of suppression... amounts to a clear abuse of the process of law,” the bench held.
MEIL had filed the 2022 defamation suit nearly a year after the first alleged defamatory report and notably sought damages and an injunction rather than a defamation-specific suit. The Court remarked, “It is pertinent to note that Respondent No.1 opted to file a suit for recovery of damages for defamation, rather than a suit for defamation.”
The media reports in question, including those by The News Minute, had linked MEIL to alleged irregularities in funding the wedding of IAS officer Rajat Kumar’s daughter in 2021, allegedly involving five-star venues such as Taj Falaknuma Palace. The reports claimed a “money trail” connecting MEIL executives to the event and suggested an unofficial nexus between MEIL and Kumar, then head of the state’s Irrigation Department overseeing the Kaleshwaram Project.
Setting aside the trial court’s order, the High Court reiterated that restrictions on press freedom must strictly adhere to Article 19(2) of the Constitution and only be imposed in exceptional circumstances such as risks to national security or trial fairness.
The appeals were allowed, and the gag order was quashed with no order as to costs. “The right to publish, circulate and disseminate views is protected under Article 19(1)(a). Any attempt to thwart or deny the same would offend the Constitution,” the bench said.